FLASH ON MOBILE- ADOBE WAY

Watching TV on a mobile can be a frustrating experience

Adobe has announced a plan to try to get its Flash player installed on more mobile devices and set-top boxes.

Dubbed Open Screen the initiative lifts restrictions on how its multimedia handling software can be used.

Adobe will stop charging licencing fees for mobile versions of Flash and plans to publish information about the inner workings of the code.

In taking this step Adobe hopes to repeat on mobiles the success its Flash technology has enjoyed on the web.

Video deal

Adobe estimates that its Flash player is installed on more than 98% of net-connected desktop computers.

The Open Screen plan will build on Flash Lite - Adobe's version of its multimedia player designed for mobile gadgets - that is already on millions of handhelds.

The ultimate aim of Open Screen is to make it much easier for TV and film makers to send their content to mobiles and on other devices such as set-top boxes.

It aims to do this by creating one flexible player technology that can run on any small-form device but only demands that developers write code once for it.

At the moment trying to get games or video on to different devices can be frustrating because of the plethora of hardware and software quirks on each gadget.

Adobe's four-step plan involves ending license fees; removing restrictions on the use of files in SWF and FLV format; publishing detailed information about the program interfaces for its Flash player and opening up information about its Flash streaming technology.

The move is the latest in a series that are aiming to open up Flash and get more devleopers working with it.

It is also part of the larger plan for Adobe Air - an overarching code development system that aims to bridge the gap between web and desktop applications.

Adobe said it was working with Arm, SonyEricsson, Nokia, LG and other gadget makers on the Open Screen initiative as well as content partners such as the BBC, MTV and NBC.

Adobe faces competition from Microsoft which is trying to get Silverlight - its answer to Air - on to mobiles too.

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MICROSOFT ON SOFT SIDE TO YAHOO. AWAY FROM BID

Yahoo's shares are expected to fall when markets open on Monday

Software giant Microsoft has dropped its three-month-old bid to buy internet firm Yahoo because the two sides cannot agree on an acceptable sale price.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer formally withdrew the offer in a letter to Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang.

Mr Ballmer said Microsoft had raised its original offer from $44.6bn to $47.5bn (£24.1bn) - $33 per share.

But he added that Yahoo had insisted on at least $53bn, or $37 a share - more than Microsoft was prepared to pay.

The software giant had wanted to do a deal to be able to compete with Google, which dominates the lucrative market for internet advertising.

Microsoft's new leadership will have to prove it can deliver a web offering that can ultimately substitute the profits generated by cash cows Windows and Office Tim Weber, Business editor, BBC News website Analysis: Microsoft with Yahoo dot.life blog Q&A: End of Microsoft's bid

This market was worth $40bn in 2007 and is predicted to double to $80bn by 2010.

'Distraction'

In his letter to Mr Yang, which has been posted on the Microsoft website, Mr Ballmer said: "We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo and the market as a whole.

"Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5bn, Yahoo has not moved toward accepting our offer.

"After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal."

Mr Ballmer also told Yahoo's boss that he would not pursue his original plan B of launching a hostile takeover battle, because Mr Yang would "take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft".

Mr Ballmer told his own employees that Microsoft could achieve its goals without Yahoo, albeit at a slower pace.

Yahoo maintained that Microsoft had offered too little to buy the company.

In a statement issued after Microsoft's withdrawal, Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock dismissed the unsolicited bid as a "distraction".

Microsoft's shares closed on Friday virtually unchanged at $29.24. Yahoo's shares were $1.85 higher at $28.67 amid expectations of a higher Microsoft offer.

The BBC's Peter Bowes says analysts believe the breakdown in talks may have an adverse affect on Yahoo shares and generate uncertainty among investors about the company's management.

Disappointment

Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of advertising group WPP, said his clients would be disappointed that Microsoft had abandoned its bid for Yahoo.

"A combination of Microsoft and Yahoo would have provided balance to the online advertising market place," he told the BBC News website.

However, he said that Microsoft was a "resourceful and innovative company" and might still be able to provide a challenge to Google's market dominance.

RED CAR TO RED CARPET. A QUICK PIT START FROM MS

"Retirement" is a relative term when you're the fastest driver in the world. Since stepping back from his Formula One career, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has remained a high-profile celebrity, often despite his best attempts to stay out of the limelight. When he's not under investigation for commandeering a taxi or dedicating buildings, he's competing ad-hoc in motorcycle races and coaching his son on a developing racing career of his own. Reports now suggest that Hollywood is offering Schumi a film on his life and career. According to reports, Schumacher himself could star in the film, while Bruce Willis has also been attached to the project to play race commentator Murray Walker. It wouldn't be Schumacher's first foray into film, following his cameos in kids' movies like Asterix and Pixar's Cars. Although Schumacher has yet to accept the offer, his longtime manager Willi Weber has confirmed that it's under consideration. If the project gets the green light, it could turn out to be the biggest racing film since Steve McQueen's Le Mans.